Shroud of Turin goes on display for first time in decade

The mysterious and controversial Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, went on public display yesterday for the first time in a decade.

Some two million people are expected to view one of the most revered relics in Christendom - and among the most disputed - over the next six weeks in this northern Italian city.

The city that is home to the Fiat auto giant has completed extensive preparations for the onslaught of visitors, notably in terms of security and crowd control.

A large area around Turin cathedral has been cordoned off and some 4,000 volunteers, many of them retired elite mountain warfare soldiers sporting the plumed felt caps of their corps, Gli Alpini (Alpines), were pressed into service.

A nearby tent city offered ice cream and specialities of Turin's Piedmont region, as well as emergency services.

Special parking areas have been designated for coaches bringing pilgrims for their chance to spend a few minutes before the relic, framed by red drapery and backlit to provide the best possible view.

The Shroud of Turin, which was painstakingly restored in 2002, measures 4.4 by 1.1 metres (14.3 by 3.7 feet) and is said to have been imprinted with an image of Christ's body, notably his face.

It was discovered in the French city of Troyes, southeast of Paris, in the mid-14th century.

The cloth became an overnight international sensation in 1898 after amateur photographer Secondo Pia obtained a negative image with far more striking features than those of the natural, sepia-coloured positive.

No one has come up with a scientific explanation for the image, and no one has managed to replicate it.

A section missing from the upper right-hand corner of the fabric was used for radiocarbon dating analysis in 1988, when samples were sent to four different labs.

The analysis determined the fibres in the cloth date from the Middle Ages, sometime between 1260 and 1390, but those findings have in turn been challenged.

Normally visitors to the cathedral can only view a life size reproduction of the relic, which last went on public display in 2000.

Daniela Kalatovic, 24, said she would make up her mind once she saw the relic with her own eyes.

"I'm a scientist, so I have my doubts," the Croatian chemistry student told AFP. "I hope once I see it I'll believe it; I hope it strikes me." Andrea Francesco Morbini, 25, who works at a snack bar near the cathedral, said: "Lots of people have their doubts, but I am sure it is real."